Newtown-based firearms group sues over CT gun law

A Second Amendment organization that represents a host of Connecticut firearms companies and is based 2.8 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School is suing the state over a package of gun reforms it adopted in April in the wake of the massacre.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, located in Newtown, filed an 11-page federal lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Connecticut alleging that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and fellow Democrats who control the Legislature short-circuited the approvals process when the sweeping legislation was signed into law.

“A 139-page bill was assembled behind closed doors, bypassing both the public hearing and committee processes, and quickly sent to floor votes on the same day in both the House and Senate where legislators did not have adequate time to even read the bill,” Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of NSSF, said in a statement. “The governor then signed the package into law the next day. All of this is in violation of guarantees citizens are supposed to have under Connecticut State Statutes and protections in our State and U.S. Constitutions for which our forefathers fought. Our suit focuses on this abuse of process that has resulted in enacted law that does nothing to improve public safety, while resulting in adverse effects on law-abiding citizens, manufacturers, retailers and sportsmen’s organizations.”

Andrew Doba, a spokesman for Malloy, defended the restrictions in a statement.

“We’ve known for some time that groups opposed the to the new gun violence prevention law would be filing suit against it,” Doba said. “We believe the bill improves public safety, and we will work with the Attorney General’s office to defend it. Let’s not forget that this has happened before. In prior instances where Connecticut has passed common sense restrictions on firearms, there have been challenges. They have all been unsuccessful.”

The General Assembly banned so-called high-capacity magazines like the ones Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza used in his Dec. 14 rampage that left 20 children and six educators dead, setting the limit at 10 rounds of ammunition.

It added the Bushmaster XM-15 E2S, the semi-automatic rifle used by Lanza, to the list of banned weapons in the state.

All ammunition purchases are also subject to an instant background check.

20 Responses

Lets remember this wasn’t allowed public comment, accept for the TOWN OF NEWTOWNS IMPUT, for good reason.Molloy had to get this pushed through for the visit from Obama, that was planned b4 this was even signed. Wondering who is getting Federal positions promised if this gets signed? Stay tuned

As a govt employee, I will tell you that emergency bills are used for budgetary and other items that will stop the State from being able to function. this clearly violated Ct Statue. A danbury Canle station had a congressman on the air and he agreed that this was not what the emergency act was meant for. The people voting had no idea what was in the Bill. As a matter of fact, if you watched in live on cable, you saw elected officials, many are lawyers, asking questions, trying to figure out what they were voting for. THIS WAS TELEVISED and they looked confused and clueless.

Gotta love the progressives. Unless you 100% agree with their unconstitutional views on gun control and are willing to use the Constitution as toilet paper, you are an obstructionist. However if you concede to every one of their illogical demands, they see that as meeting in the middle and being a ‘compromise’.

Gee, I’m still waiting for the call-up for our State Militia, you know, the one the Constitution grants us the “right” to own guns for so that we can all participate in Militia drilling and marching on our town Greens.

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“It is not honorable to take a mere legal advantage, when it happens to be contrary to justice.”

Justice is clearly on the side of regulating an armed militia. We don’t need a mob with guns, super sized magazines, or nuts with guns. Weapons are lethal instruments no matter how sportsman want to paint the fun they get from using a device that throws lead at supersonic velocities to destroy objects and life at a distance.

So now the nuts want their toys so much they pretend to use the law to have their way. Are they saying that yes, gun restrictions are right and correct, but that it was done in the wrong way. Are the gun nuts now protecting us from constitutional abuse? That’s pretty funny.

Say what you want, hate guns and gun owners all you want, but the fact remains that the passage of this law is a slap in the face to the democratic process in this country. If you are OK with how this law was conceived and passed, you are OK with having your constitutional rights trampled on. Are you OK with having sweeping legislation, whatever the subject, drafted and passed by a few politicians locked in a room for a day? If this law isnt struck down by the judicial system, then the basic system of checks and balances has failed in this state and we have officially descended into an oligarchy. Open a history book, Connecticut. Wars have been fought over this stuff.

Similarly, the police have recently begun a crackdown on Texting While Driving. This is CLEARLY an attempt to take away our sacred first amendment right of ‘Freedom of Speech’. Freedom loving Americans need to fight back against this blatant attempt to rob us of our liberty.

The fact that there are many, many other ways to exercise our freedom of speech (just like there are many, many types of guns that are still available in Connecticut) does not matter.

Who will don a Davy Crockett costume with me and protest against this outlandish attempt to rob us of our most sacred right? Just imagine not being allowed to express yourself in any way you want under any and all circumstances. The next thing you know it will be illegal to yell ‘Fire!’ in a theater…

I find it interesting that the group filing suit represents several gun companies, but the individuals shown protesting are “responsible gun owners”.
Once again it causes me to question if this is really people worried about 2nd amendment rights and the proper procedure for passing laws or if its corporations trying to make sure they can make as much money as possible.

Nothing can stop the man with right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. TJ. Not one of those gun laws passed would have prevented any of these mass shootings, on the contrary, they made it easier.

democrats and the rinos are trying to regulate the 2nd Amendment away, the connecticut politicians not only violated not only the constitution but my civil rights as well. This knee jerk reaction is nothing more than to disarm and turn legal owners into criminals. obama administration has done nothing more than try to shame people into thinking being an gun owner is wrong. Yet the police get a pass for not entering the building sooner and could have ended up saving lives. I’m sure parents who are gun owners would have taken that chance….